Means for and method of forming tie-plates



Sept. 11, 1928.

M. OVEST'RUD MEANS Foa AND METHOD oF FORMING TIE FLATES 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1

M/fiar Sept. 1l, 1928.

M. OVESTRUD MEANS FOR AD METHOD OF EORMING TIE PLATES Filed Apri129, 1925 zsneets-sheet. 2

Patented Sept. l1, 1928.

nm'rfeosrares PArENroF-F1;c.

MEI-LWN OVEST-nen, en sfrrLLWATER, Mnvnnsofra, Ass-renon To TWIN- CITY FORGE a.'

YONDRS'v COMPANY, OF STILLXA'DER, MINNESOTA, A CORPORATION 0E MINNE.-

some.

Y Application ille-.d Anf-.i1 39, 1.925. serial No. 26,671.

.invention relates' to .improvements n menne ferend method .of forming tieplatee ofthe ehareeter Set forthA in Letters Potent et the United, States No. 1.1715581 Feb. .16,L ,19in-.to Edmund Barrett and Whieh 'are .known as the Barrett .type oombnaton to-Plate and rail anohorln tests, this tie plate has proven to be very etteetve and it has only remained to Supl-y efioent .method and means for carryingout the same,-whe rehy said tienlatee be consti-'usted at low enough oost to the general .use thereof.

An lohiectV of nay present invention is to supply a method "and means for carrying out the Seme, whereby teplatee .of the Chareoter Set-orthn seid .Barrett patent may loe rapidly construted in large quantities at relatively Small oost .More eioeeiioally itis Inv obieot to p1.0- vde .e method' .tor tor-.ming to-Plates, which includes thel taking of a vlong steel blank comprising a hodyplate having a perpendiouler flange Ythereon extending longitud'- nelly thereof; punching spike holes in said body, shearing punched portions from the blank te form 'tefplete Sections; heating the .denses on Seid Seetone; bending said heated flanges and thereby converting the dense .of each Seetion into a jaw member; conveying thetormed tie-plateV sections to point or' disposition-thereof .and cooling the heated. sections in the lconveying step, oneratonSt-ekng plaoe'n the .order named whereby tie-plates are formed rapidly and economically and immediately disposed of for .Shipment .or storage.

f Another object of the invention Iis to profV vide meansv for punehi-ng spike holes iny the body .of a SteelI blank and for shearngead. blank transversely ,to provide severed tie-- plate sections, also `means for heating the flanges ef the tie-plate sections, and means for bendingv the heated Vvflanges into law forming relation, the heating means serving' as' a Y.oonvering ined-iure lbetween the .blank shearing Ineens and the flange rbinding means.

for heating the flanges oftie-plates sections, wvherentwo Sliding trane of Said sections may loe eceomimodated and; further., to pfovide e blank-shearing device designed .to deliver1 severed tie-plete Sections adjacent to said A'further Objectis to provide a furnace:

the head of each of saidA trains and to propel the trains of tie-plate sections through said. furnace.

An additional object Aof the inventiony is to provide means for the immediate and conf' venient disposition of the formed tie-plate sections,.said means comprisingA a tie-plate conveyorA associated with said flange bending. press and equipped. toA water cool .the tieplate sections carried vupon vsaid conveyor.

lVith the foregoing and other .objects in view, which will appear-in ythe following description, the invention resides in the novel combination and arrangement of parts Aand in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Fig. lis a plan View of. means embodying my invention'and adapted' to carry out my improved method for forming tie-plate sections, the conveyor for dis..-

posing of the formed tie-plate sections` being" shown ragxnentarily; Fig. y2is a view partly inA section and partly in elevation, the same being taken as on the'li'ne 2v2 of Fig. l, portionsof the mechanism shown in elevationbeing broken awayfto illustrate soy parts vthat otherwise Wonldbe` concealed-,

Fig. 3 is a front elevational View, in detail,

of' a 'portionA of; the punching nndishearing press; Fig. fl isa front elevational view, in detail, of the flange forming press; F-lg. 5 isa transverse sectional view ofthe furnace for heating ythe flanges .ofthetie-plate sec`V tions, said View being taken on the line 5:-.5

ofV Fig. l; Fig. ,6k is a` longitudinal' sectional.

view of the entirev conveyor, which is illusf trated only ragmentarily inplan in Fig.

1, said view bcingtaken as ont-heline 6. 6H

ofFig. .1; Fig. 7i is Aa transverse sectional View in detail. the' saine heingtaken ,onthe 1 line of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 isfa perspective view of a steel blank from which vthe tie.-

plate sections are struck and Fig. 9 is a perspectivev View.v of a linished tie-plate.

Reference being had to the drawings, it

will benotedthatlthe illustrated .embodi-y ment of my invention includes a press A,

furnace B, press@ and conveyor-1). Said elements arranged, .one adjacent to another,

provide a series of mechanismsV 'throught which tie-plate material is advanced from a stock pile to a car or bin for reoeiv'ingthe finished tie-plates. j

The material .at the stock pile is-in the form of long bars or blanks, each blank E (Fig. 8) comprising an elongated body plate 10 having a flange 11 formed longitudinally thereof and perpendicular to said body plate. The finished tie-plate F (Fig. 9) comprises a section sheared transversely from al blank E, the platform 10a thereofy being a portion of the body plate 10 punched with spike holes 12 therein, the jaw member 11a consisting of the flange portion bent inwardly of the platform 10a.

The press A, includes a frame 13, ram 14, bed 15, power crankshaft 16 and ram pitm'an 17, all common in conventional heavy duty presses. On the under side of the ram 14 near the front thereof is a punch head 18y in which are held tWo groups of punches 19, four to each group, and in which is mounted a pair of yielding bar holder plungers 20, one plunger being arranged centrally of one group of punches 19 and the other centrally of the second group of punches 19. Also secured to the under side of the ram 14 and at the rear of the punches 19 are a pair of shearing blades 21. The forward blade 21 co-opcrates with a cutting edge 22 on the bed 15, while the rear blade 21 (2o-operates with a cutting edge 23 on an added supplementary bed portion 15a. VThe punches 19 co-operate with the bed 15, openings 15b (dotted lines, Fig. 3) being formed in said bed to receive said punches. Side guides 24 secured to the bed 15 and embracing the edges of ablank E 1 fed to the press, locate the blank laterally of the press A so that the holes formed in the body plate 10 by the punches 19 will be propt 'tions thereof beneath the blades 21.

Aplate section to the right erly located With respect to the flange 11 and so that flange receiving notches 25, 2G (Fig. 3) respectively formed in the punch head 13 and shearing .blades 21 will receive said flange 11 on the working thrust of the ram 14. A rear stop 27 hung from a bracket 28 traversing the bed portion 15a of the press A, provides an abutment against lwhich Vthe end of a blank E is fed lduring the upward stroke ofthe ram 14. On the downward or Working'thrust of the ram' 14 `two tieplate sections (previously punched) are severed from the end of the blank E by the blades 21 and said blank is perforated further back'by the punches 19, the punching being prepartory to the next shearing stroke of the blades 21, which is preceded by advancement of the blank to the stop 27 and the consequent placement of the punched por- The lowermost plate section severed from' the blank topples rearwardly over the bed member 15'Ll into a chute 29.y This chute 29, formed with a stop ledge 29% leads said tieof the press A (Fig.*1)'. The second tie-plate section, dropping between the cutting edges 22, 23 falls into a chute '30 formed with a stop ledge 30EL and arranged to deliver said second tieeplate section to the leftof said press A.

'The furnace B, extends rearwardly from the punchingy and shearing press A, the head of said furnace being disposed adjacent to said press A. The, furnace comprises a body 31 of fire brick or other refractory material forming two spaced chambers 31a extending longitudinally of the furnace structure.

These chambers 31a are vaulted, each openv Communicating with Vthese noz-V opposite margins of each slot 32 in said body. i

are a pair' of spaced wearing plates 40, 41, fitted respectively with guide rails 42, 43, said plates and rails forming slide-ways G for tie-plate sections and being extended slightly beyond the head of the furnace as shown 'in Fig. 2. An inclined yoke 44` (Fig. 2) having its stem linked to the rain 14 of the press A is equipped at the tips of each of the branches 44a with a pusherv block 45, which sildes back and forth in one ofthe slidesways G, as the ram 14 rises and falls.

Tie-plate sections (Figs. 2 and 5) are placed in the slide-ways G of the furnace B .with the body plate portions thereof resting face down'on` the wearing plates 40, 41 and with the flange portions depending in the slots 32vin the top of the furnace B. Upon the JUD losy

upward throw of the ram 14 of the press A,

the pusher-blocks 45 are retracted from' the ylast fed tie-plate sections of the two trains of said sections in the slid'eeways G of the furnace. )While said'blocks 45 are so retracted the last severed tie-plate sections arepassed to said `slide-ways G, the onel from the chute 29 of the press A being conveniently transferred to the adjacent slide-way G at one side of the furnace (Fig. 1) and the one from the chute 30 simlarly transferred ,to the slide-Way G at the other side of Vthe furnace. Upon-the descent of theram'14, the pusher blocks 45 engage the two tie-plate sections last fed to the slide-ways G, each pusher-block urging its respective train of tie-plate sec-tions along the slideways-G. From the foregoing, it will be understood that the step by step movement imparted by the yoke 44 to the trains of tie-plate sections on the furnace B makes room at the heads of the slide-Ways G for new tiefplate sections as they are severed from a blank Ev at the press Aand, further, that with the furnace of the furnace operating, the depending flange porand means on said first press adapted to deliver severed tie-plate sections the head of each train. e

f 8. Means for forming tie-plates vof the character described from a steel blank comadjacent to p rising an elongated body plate formed 'f tween said rst and second presses, a conveyon for carrying the freshly formed tieplates from said second press to point of disposition thereof, said conveyor being equipped with means for'vvater cooling said tie-plates in transit on'v said conveyor.

' 4. li/Ieans for forming tie-plates of the character described from a steel blank comprising an elongated body plate formed with a flange longitudinally thereof, said means including a mechanism forpunchi'ng spike holes in the body `of said blank and shearing the blank transversely vto sever punched sections therefrom, a furnace for heating the ianges only of the tie-plate sections suliiciently for the ready bending thereof, va second press for bending the heated flanges of the respective sections into jaw forming relation, said furnace constituting the conveying medium between said first and second presses.

5. The method .ofA forming tie-plates of the character described, consisting in taking a steel blank comprising an elongated body plate formed with a flange longitudinally thereof, punching spike holes in the body, shearing said body transversely thereof to sever punched sections therefrom, heating the flanges only of said severed sections sufficiently for ready bending' during transit thereo preparatory to the next step,l bending theV heated flanges of the respective sections vinto jaw forming relation, conveying t-he formed tie-plates to point of disposition thereof and Water cooling said tie-plates in transit to such point.

6. The method forming tie-plates of the character described, consisting in taking a steel blank comprising an elongatedbody plate formed with 'a flange longitudinally thereof, punching yspike holes in the body, shearing said body transversely thereof to sever punched sections therefrom, applying heat directly to the flanges only of said severed sections for heating the same sufficiently for ready bending, and bending the heated flanges on the respective sections into jaw forming relation.

7. 'A tie platel forming machine comprising a punch press including a bed and airain for punching and shearing tie plate sections, a furnace positioned inproximity to said press having a guide along the upper portion thereof for guiding tie plate sections during the passage of the same along said furnace, said guideway being arranged to convey the tie plates in the same` direction as the movement of saidtie plates across said punch press bed, a feeder bar hingedly connected at one end to lsaid ram and slidably mountedat its other end alongsaid guidevvay, said feeder bar being adapted to simultaneously move the tie plates mounted on said guide Way along said furnace upon reciproeation of said ram.

8. A tie plate forming machine comprising a punch press `including a bed and a Vvertically reciprocable ram for punching and shearing tie plate sections, a furnace positioned in proximity to said press having a horizontally disposed guidevvay along the upper portion thereof for guiding tie plate sections during the passage of the' same along said furnace, said guidevvay being varranged to convey the tie plates in the same direction as the movement of said tie plates across said punch press bed, an inclined feeder bar hingedly connected at one end to said ram at a point appreciably above theelevation of said guideWay and slidably mounted at its other end along said guide- Way, said -feeder bar being adapted to simultaneously move the -tie plates mounted onl said gnidevvay along Vsaid furnace upon reciprocation of said ram, the Weight of said feeder bar .holding the same in contact with said guidevvay and causing thesame to return along said guidevvay upon the upstroke of said ram. f l

In testimony whereof, Il have signed my name to this specification.

Y ',MELvrN ovEsTRUD.

SERTIFEGATE OF GORRECTIGN.

Patent No. i,6Sfi,l7. Granted September 11, 1928, to

MELVIN OVEST RUD.

lt is hereby certiied that the above numbered patent Was erroneouslyissued to "Twin @ity Forge & Foundry Company," as assignee of the entire interest in said invention, whereas said patent should have been issued to the inventor said "Ovestrud and Twin City Forge it Foundry Company, of Stillwater, Minnesota, a Corporation of Minnesota", said corporation being assignee of one-half interest only in said invention as shown by the records oi assignments in this office; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this eorrection therein that the same may conform to the record o the ease in the Eatent Office.

Signed nml sealed this 6th day oi November, A. D. 1928,

l M. J. Moore, (Seal) Acting Commissionerof Patents. 

